Chapters Tambleon, five days after the battle with the demon goat. Grogar
(author's note: This prologue is the long awaited follow up to the cliffhanger from my oldest story; Twilgiht then, Twilight now,)
All around them... was darkness.
The city of Tambleon was surrounded by a wall of magical shadow, which covered the area like a giant bubble. Those who still lived in the city quickly learned the confines of their new prison, and adjusted to the new lives their situation had brought about. The city had been trust into the dark dimension, a void between worlds, and all of those who had been in the city when it was taken were now trapped in the void with Tambelon.
All around the city, Grogar's troggle army patrolled the streets relentlessly. They were still rounding up ponies who had been left behind in the city after it was transported to this void from the pony world. Those who were caught were taken back to Grogar, gutted, and devoured by the giant goat and his goblin army. It was the reason a group of five such ponies remained hidden in an abandoned building... seeing as how they were the ones responsible for the goat lord's defeat.
"Sureshot, you see anything out there?" Hopper asked, as the Pegasus flew back down through the skylight from his scouting mission. "You think the Troggles are gonna find us anytime soon?"
"Nah, they're not entering the buildings." The Pegasus replied. "They just seem to be waiting for ponies to come out of hiding to look for food, then they get them."
"Well, that will certainly keep us safe." Slick Styles sighed. "At least, until we get hungry, and go looking for food."
"Don't worry, we'll all be out of here before then." Avian assured the others. "Hey Booker, how's that portal spell coming?"
The unicorn he had been talking to looked up from his spell book, and his chanting.
"Well, I've been working on this spell for the past several days, but I'm almost done." Booker replied, going over the last details of the spell. "I can open up a portal for us to get back to Equestria, but I don't know how long has passed there since we were trapped."
"Who cares? As long as we get back home." Hopper grumbled, as Booker began to chant the final part of the spell. "I just want to see Pinkie Pie again."
"And I want to see Rarity." Slick Styles sighed, thinking of the unicorn mare. "I wonder if she even remembers me?"
"I am sure the girls haven't forgotten us." Avian reassured them both. "But if a lot of time has passed since we left, they may have moved on with their lives."
"No, they are still waiting for us." Sureshot replied, without a moment of hesitation. "i can feel it through the lifebond... Rainbow Dash is calling to me."
As he finished talking, Booker finally finished the spell. A small, pony sized portal opened in front of the five stallions, and the all looked into the light.
"Well, this is it, guys." Booker replied, trotting through the gateway. "Time to go home!"
"Yaaay! I'm tired of this horrible place!" Hopper agreed, somersaulting through the portal after his friend. "Back to parties, back to dancing, back to fun! Look out Equestria, here we come!"
"It will be good to see Fluttershy again." Avian smiled, quietly stepping through the portal. "I hope I can meet with all of the wonderful birds she has been raising."
"Awww yeah, I'm gonna be chillin' with Rainbow Dash again!" Sureshot exclaimed, zipping into the circle of light. "We're gonna be the most awesomest couple evar!"
After all of his friends had gone through the portal, Slick Styles looked back when he hears the sounds of fists and spears pounding on the doors of the abandoned building they were hiding.
"Open up!" A guttural voice from outside cried out. "Open up in the name of Lord Grogar!"
"Oh dear, the troggles have found us!" Slick cried out, as he galloped through the portal. "I hope this portal closes after I leave!"
As the unicorn vanished through the doorway, the portal collapsed behind him. The troggles stormed into the empty room, looking around for the pony refugees that informants had told them were hiding here.
"Were are stupid ponies!?" One of the troggles growled, as his comrades tore the rooms in the buildings apart. "They must have gotten away before we got here!"
At that moment, a dark and towering shadow filled the building's doorway. All of the troggle guards cowered in fear as the large, four-legged goat-demon with blue fur trotted past them. The towering figure with the bell around his neck, walked over to the spot where the portal had been, and sensed the magical energy with his horns.
"Those ponies escaped back to Equestria through a portal the unicorn wizard made." Grogar smiled, looking around at his troggle warriors. "They have breached the barrier between dimensions, giving a pathway to follow them back."
"You mean... ponies have given us a way back?" One of the troggles grinned, pleased that some good had come out of the pony's escape. "We can use their magic door to go back to world?"
"The ponies have given us a path to follow, once I can use my enchanted bell to create a spell." Grogar explained. "It could take five hundred years to teleport this city back to the physical world, but they have opened the door for us to escape from this accursed prison." The demon-goat snarled and snorted. "And mark my words, once we get back to Equestria, we shall make the streets run red with the blood of the ponies, we shall turn their world into ash, and destroy their precious concept of friendship forever!"
Grogar's cruel laughter echoed all throughout the walls and buildings of Tambelon, sending a shiver down the the spines of all the poor wretched souls who were unfortunate enough to live there.
The town of Ponyville; a small, pleasant community that lies to the south of Canterlot. Originally a sleepy little earth pony town that had grown up next to sweet apple acres, being the home of the six harmony bearers put the humble town on the map. The small town had grown much larger since then, but it still maintained a sense of friendship and community Ponyville had always had.
It was the typical, calm day in Ponyville, where the skies were crystal clear thanks to the Pegasus, and a warm breeze blew through the trees. The ponies of the town were going about their normal day-to-day business, including the harmony bearers themselves. Rarity was busy crafting one of her beautiful dresses, while Rarity was teach some baby birds to fly. Rainbow Dash was taking a nap in the clouds, while Twilight Sparkle was in her friendship school, looking over some of her students papers. So they were all too busy to see the five ponies who were trotting up the road towards the town.
Pinkie Pie was baking a cake at Sugarcube corners, when her Pinkie Sense informed her the strangers were approaching the town.
"Ohhh, five tail twitches means new friends!" Pinkie giggled, skipping her way towards the door. "Id better go out and give them a super-duper hello greeting!"
The pink earth pony was all smiles and giggles, as usual, until she trotted out and saw the five stallions who had trotted into town. The mare's eyes went wide, and her jaw fell open in shock as she gazed upon five phantoms from her past. The party planner's eyes focused on the smiling green earth pony standing in front of her.
"H-hopper?" She asked, her voice trembling.
"Hey, Pinkie Pie..." Hopper replied nervously. "It's.... good to see you again."
Pike Pie's screams and sobbing brought ponies running from all over town; including Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. The Ponvyvillers were shocked to see their normally happy Pinkie Pie clinging to the mysterious green stallion, sobbing and crying. The other three harmony bearers were shocked by the sight of three of the other stallions, who they had never expected to see again.
"Slick?" Rarity asked, her eyes tearing up. "Great Celestia, is that you?"
"Hello, Rarity Darling." Slick trotted up, gently putting a hoof to her face. "It's so wonderful to see you as fashionable as ever."
Rainbow Dash dove into Sureshot, tackling him to the ground, and screaming into his face.
"YOU BIG DUMB IDIOT! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" The sobbing mare wailed, pounding on the stallion in front of her. "I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU, YOU MORON! HOW COULD YOU STAY BEHIND IN TAMBLEON! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!"
"I'm sorry, Dashie." The Pegasus stallion replied calmly. "I was only trying to protect you, and didn't want to see you hurt."
After hitting him several times, Rainbow Dash finally stared at him with pained eyes, before breaking down into sobs. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was just staring at Avian, unable to form words between her soft sobs.
"Is-is it really you?" Fluttershy managed between sobs. "Are you sure I'm not dreaming?"
"You aren't dreaming, my little goldfinch." Avian smiled, putting his wings around her. "I have come back to you."
All of the other ponies in town stood by, confused, and so the four mares began to explain everything that had transpired on the Tambelon adventure to them. Hearing all of the commotion going on outside, Twilight Sparkle trotted out of the friendship school... only to find a familiar unicorn stallion standing there, waiting for her.
"Booker?" Twilight asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
"Hi, Twilight." Booker replied, nodding at her. "Sorry it took me so long to get back to you."
The alicorn princess narrowed her eyes at him, a look of disgust crossing her face. Booker was shocked by this, not expecting such a chilly reception.
"Twi? Is something wrong?" The stallion asked nervously, as the mare of his dreams trotted away from him. "I thoguht you would be happy to see me."
"We're going to my caste, right now, mister." The princess growled angrily in reply. "You certainly have a lot of explaining to do.
Back at Twilight's castle, the Princess of friendship was seated upon her crystal throne, while Booker stood in front of the cutie map table. There was along silence between the two, before the stallion finally decided to break it.
"Hello my love, it is so good to see you again." Booker greeted her, trying to sweet talk the alicorn. "You're an alicorn now, and a princess! Your wings are more beautiful than-"
"Cut the garbage, Booker." Twilight replied, having none of it. "I am very well aware that you and the others returned from the dark dimension a year ago. And that you kept the other stallions from coming to Ponyville, as well as doing some shady things on the black market."
"Oh, you found out about that." Booker replied sheepishly. "Listen, Twilight... I can explain-"
"Why didn't you come back to me, Booker? Why didn't you let your friends come back to their mares?" Twilight spoke to him in a calm, yet clearly angry tone. "Do you know how long we all cried over you and the other stallions, we thought you were all gone forever! Couldn't you feel my heartbreak through the lifebond? What in Tartarus is wrong with you?!"
"Twilight, wait," he trotted up to her, pleading. "I did it for you! Listen, all of Equestria is in danger of-"
"Enough! You have caused too much pain to my friends and I already!" Twilight stood up, obviously still too angry and hurt to hear him out. "You abandoned me, you sweet-talking creep of a colt! I had to deal with all of those problems- becoming an alicorn, Equestria being attacked and invaded all those times- I had to face all of those agonies alone- WITHOUT YOU!"
"You were alone? Really?" Booker snapped back, snorting at her. "Because I have heard a lot of juicy gossip about you and two stallions named Flash Sentry and Star Tracker!"
"They were just friends, you stupid stallion!" Twilight snapped back, slamming her hooves on the table. "I can't help what gossips and journalists say! It was you I waited for all of those months, Booker! And it was you who never came back!"
Unable to bring himself to reply, Booker could only stare at her in sadness. "Twilight, please..."
"You were lifebonded to me in Tambleon, so you are prince consort now, but you shall cause no more harm or heartbreak to any other ponies." She turned to trot out of the castle. "Prince Booker, you are hereby confined to the friendship castle and Ponyville, and forbidden to do any magic or magical research, until further notice." She turned to glare at her 'prince' again. "Now do both of us a favor, and stay out of my sight for awhile."
Twilight Sparkle stormed out of the castle, leaving a bitter and regretful Booker to weep behind her.
At Twilight's request, the rest of the mane six had gathered in the grand chamber of the friendship castle, each seated upon their respective thrones. All of the group (excepting Applejack and Twilight) were discussing their upcoming nuptials, and each mare was simply brimming with happiness over the return of their special someponies.
" Slick wants to have a spring wedding in Manehatten!" Rarity squealed, tapping her hooves against the table in excitement. "Can you believe it? I'm going to have the most beautiful wedding dress in all of Equestria!"
"You think that's neat? Hopper and I are going to have a wild and crazy wedding party in Los Pegasus!" Pinkie squealed, hopping up and down in her seat in excitement. "You're all invited, and it's gonna be a blast!"
"Ha! You think that's great?" Rainbow Dash laughed. "Sureshot and are are gonna have a Wonderbolts-style wedding!"
"All right, that's enough!" Twilight demanded, sitting down in the throne angrily. "We don't need to hear about all of your wonderful wedding plans right now! We have more important things to worry about that how you four are getting married!"
"Ummm, Twilight I don't mean to be rude, but..." Fluttershy replied, quietly but iwth a little of the assertion she had picked up over the past few years. "But just because you're not happy with Booker, doesn't mean the rest of us should be upset at our stallions."
"Indeed Twilight!" Rarity agreed. "This is a happy occasion for the rest of us, please don't spoil it just because you are upset, darling!"
"Twilight's raight, what's wrong with y'all?" Applejack agreed. "The return of yer fellers also means Grogar maight return, 'cause if the stallions found their way back, y'all cain bet yer bottoms that that ornery goat and his troggle army will find their way back, too."
"Not don't be absurd, Applejack!" Rarity insisted angrily. "Slick has already told me Booker closed the portal behind them, and there is no way Grogar's forces could follow them through!"
"But remember girls, Grogar has his really powerful magic bell." Fluttershy added timidly. "Maybe he could somehow find his way back through the doorway, and attack all of Equestria!"
"Awww, don't worry worry about that creepy ol' Grogar!" Pinkie giggled, hopping up and down in her throne. "If Hopper says that old goat isn't coming back, then we're never gonna see him again!"
"While Pinkie Pie is probably being far too optimistic about Grogar's potential return, there are more important things threatening Equestria right now." Princess Twilight pointed out, levitating several books and pamphlets onto the table. "For example, it has come to my attention that somepony has been distributing books, comics and other literature all around Equestria that is based on our lives and adventures, but totally twists all of the facts around about what happened!"
"Only you would find a bunch of books with wrong information would be a bigger crisis than Grogar, darling." Rarity laughed, shaking her head. "Don't you think you're getting your priorities out of order?"
"Rarity, we deal with monsters and villains all the time, they are easy to beat!" twilight Sparkle replied, flexing her wings angrily. "But misinformation? That's an enemy we can't afford to lose to!"
"Twilight's right about this one!" Rainbow Dash interjected, holding up the newest Daring Do book in her wings. "Somepony is putting out unauthorized books that really mess stuff up! They have Tirek and Grogar being waaaaay older than all of us, and make them ancient enemies of Equestria! They have Twilight going to some other world through a weird mirror, and turning into a monkey-like creature on the other side!"
"They get a whole bunch of other stuff wrong, too." Twilight agreed. "Like the Sea ponies being transformed Hippogriffs, instead of experiments from Tambleon! Or starswirl the breaded and the pillars of Equestria showing up in the modern day, when they all died thousands of years ago!"
"Could somepony be trying to tarnish our reputations?" Fluttershy asked, in her usual timid voice. "I mean, Equestria still has a few enemies, maybe they are trying to turn other ponies against us?"
"I don't think that's what they're trying to do, Fluttershy." Twilight added. "The fake stories still make us look good, but they still distort the truth a lot!"
"Look, Twilight Darling... both of these problems should be looked into, but we still have our weddings to plan." Rarity added. "So until we have something tangible on Grogar or these lies somepony is printing, why don't you look into these problems yourself, while the rest of us get back to pour impending nuptials?"
As Flutteryshy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity all left the room, only Applejack stayed with a deeply concerned Twilight as she began to pace the room.
"This is no good, A.J., none of the others are taking my worries seriously." The alicorn princess said with a sigh. "I don't know, maybe I am making too much out of all this."
"Don't worry none about it, Twi. I'll help y'all look into the tall tales somepony is writin' about us." The earth pony reassured her friend. "In the meantime, maybe we should have Starlight Glimmer work with Booker, and look into the problem themselves?"
"That's a really good idea, A.J.!" Twilight agreed, nodding. We can kill two parasprites with one stone... and maybe I can use this as a way to start and apologize to Booker for how I acted."
"Already starting to regret how you treated your feller, huh?" The cowpony chuckled. "I reckoned y'all would feel bad once ya'll cooled off."
"Ohhh, I was just so angry at him, A.J.!" Her ears drooped, as Twilight and her friend trotted their way out of the throne room. "I don't care what his reasons were, Booker should have contacted me as soon as he and the stallions got back to our dimension!"
"Sugar cube, y'all will find stallions will always do their own thang, no matter how stupid it seems." Applejack laughed. "If y'all cain't deal with it, then you'll be driven loco by the third year of yer marriage."
"Wow, you seem to know a lot about stallions." Princess Twilight grinned. "It's amazing you don't have a lifebond partner yourself."
"Aww, no stallion out thar is strong enough fer me." A.J. chuckled. "It's going to take a stallion who's like Lightning ta win mah heart!"
One thousand years later, present day
I always hate this time of year.
The end of summer... and the beginning of Autumn. All of the landscape of Ponyland seemed to die, the life and beauty fading from the world around us. The leaves were changing many beautiful colors, before falling off the trees and dying. The once-warm air growing as cold as ice, and the unintelligent animals prepared to slumber for the winter. It seemed to me as if all of the landscape was dying, only to be reborn again in the spring. It was the passing of one year into another, the change that was always constant in Ponyland.
Standing on the ramparts of Dream Castle, I gazed down at the fields surrounding the palace. I saw the little ponies down on the grass below, laughing and playing as they prepared for this years fall festival. Surprise was busy setting up the games and party activities, while Applejack and Cherries Jubilee Set up the snacks table. Fizzy and Lickety Split were preparing the Satin Slipper's ice cream booth, while Gypsy arraigned her fortune telling booth. It was another fun festival for the ponies of this kingdom, one in what seemed like and endless string of such events. As my eyes scanned the ponies below, the stallion let out a sigh. I had lived with these ponies for over ten years, and my life since moving here had been a grand adventure. Crazy friendships with every kind of mare and stallion, life threatening battles with terrible villains... it had been both a blessing... and a curse.
"Tornado? Are you up here?" A voice called up the stairs from below. "What are you doing away from the festival?"
The mare comes up the stairs, and my gaze shifted towards her. Twilight... my beloved wife, the glittering angel in my night sky. This unicorn is the love of my life, the most important creature to me in this whole universe. Her long white mane glows like the sky on a starry night, and her pink coat glimmers like the moonlight. This mare, the dream Beauty who protects the sleep of all the ponies in Ponyland, is my beloved wife. As she trots up to me and bushes a soft white lock of my mane out of my face, her deep and loving eyes gaze into mine.
"Tornado, what wrong?" She asks, a look of concern crossing her face. "You've been all mopey these past few days, did something happen, dear?"
I sigh, shaking my head. Of course I can't hide my feelings from the mare I am life bonded to- she and I are two aspects of the same soul. She can feel my emotions through the bond, just as I can feel her deep concern for me. With a sigh, I turn to face her.
"You know me too well, my starry sky." I tell my wife, nuzzling her. "I was just thinking about everything that has happened since we first met. How much we've all gone through; those witches, that blasted centaur, the crazy penguin king with the ice powers." I shook my mane. "So much chaos, in only a decade.... it makes me feel so...old."
"Oh dearest... you are being so silly again." She said with a laugh. " It's true we have been through a lot, but think of all the good we've done, and all of the friends we've made." She looked down over the edge of the castle. "And one of the most wonderful things in our lives."
My eyes followed my wife's gaze.... and I saw our adopted daughter, Ember, standing with her friends below. She was a teenager now, laughing and giggling as she and the other fillies shamelessly flirted with the teen colts. Raising her had been one of the happiest experiences of Twilight and I's life. I think about how blessed we had been to raise her... until I thoguht again about the fact that she was a teenager now. all that time had passed since we had adopted her, and since Ember was older, it reminded me.... I was older .
Looking over at Twilight, I noticed how eternally young and beautiful she looked; a result of not aging because she is a dream beauty. While my physical aging is also slowed, but due to my constant anxiety and stress. The blue strands of hair in my mane were graying, and circles were forming under my bloodshot eyes. Twilight did everything she could to cheer me up, but I just couldn't make my misery go away.
"Look I got to go help Wind Whistler with the fall festival banner." She kissed me tenderly, before trotting back down the steps. "Please try and come down join me soon, okay?"
I nodded, as she trotted back down the stairs. But I couldn't shake the haunting memories of the past that tormented me. I couldn't help but think of all of the dear friends we had lost. All of those ponies who had been so dear to us, their lives taken by heartless villains and monsters. Ponies like....
Suddenly, I heard the sounds of one of the foals at the festival below playing on a toy drum, and my heart sank. I closed my eyes, remembering a little blue colt who lit up our lives, who was his mother and I's dearest treasure. Drummer... he had passed on before we had adopted little Ember, and his memory still brings a pang of pain to Twilight and I's heart. Even I, as a pony historian, find this bit of personal history too painful to bear.
"If you don't like the way history has turned out, change it." A voice whispered on thew wind, causing me to look around in shock. "You can have your little boy back... if you so desire it."
"Who's there? " I asked, looking around for the entity that had intruded upon my personal thoughts. "Show yourself!"
"I am merely someone who wished to change the cruel hands of fate... to alter my destiny, as well as yours." The voice whispered, a sinister hiss filling the air. "Together, historian, we can seize the power to rewrite history to our own ends."
"That's quite a bold claim." I replied. But as I thought of my little boy, lost so long ago, I narrowed my eyes. "Before I agree to anything, tell me who you are."
"Very well, little pony." The voice chortled wickedly, before finally replying. "Once, I was known as the ancient abomination of Equinia... but you can call me Squirk."
